Australia’s David Kellett, the highly regarded 38 Sydney Hobart race veteran, who for 14 years has been on the ISAF executive - ten years as a Vice President and four as ISAF treasurer - was the first person to formally advise the Member National Authority (MNA) of his intention to stand for the ISAF President at the end of 2011 and has been communocating with MNA's making his position clear on a range of issues.

Last week we interviewed David Kellett at length.

He explained. ‘Our last two ISAF Presidents’, Paul Henderson and Goran Peterssen, have brought us a long way. There are many challenges in front of us that must be addressed with firm leadership but must be in consultation with our MNA's, Classes and Continental Associations.

‘I think the key issues that are facing ISAF in the next four years are the leadership, the governance, the service to our constituents, our MNAs and continental associations, and the development of the sport. They are the four issues that have to be addressed.

‘The decision making process within ISAF at times leaves much to be desired and has at times caused angst and animosity. There have been some unfortunate decisions in the last few years and I believe we need to change our approach to the decision making processes.

‘My leadership style is to encourage more consultation and transparency and informed decision making.

‘I try and ensure decision making groups consider both sides (of a decision) to see which one is best and that the process be open and transparent and that everybody has input so all understand exactly what they are doing and hence make good decisions for our sport.

‘I understand there are reasons that are a little cloudy then I think that is something that we will need to do and its really up to the Executive and to a lesser extent the staff, if there asked to, to say ‘hang on guys if you do that you are going to open up this can of worms. Is that really what you want to do?’

‘I am a very open person. You always know where I stand and I am happy to be convinced I am on the wrong track and change. I am not a ‘dyed in the wool, this is exactly how it will be’ and I will die defending that. If it is a better system or a better solution I am very happy to go along with it.

‘But at the same time if some leadership is needed, if you are at a crossroads and you need to make a decision which way you are going, then I will certainly consider all the arguments and put my position forward and say this is where I think we should go.

‘In governance, there has to be better ways of doing some of the things within ISAF. We have to make it more cost effective, we certainly need to fine tune meetings so they are not just talk fests and we have to speed decision making.

‘There is a general feeling through all the MNAs that now is the time to do this and for the service to the sport we have to.

‘We are there to serve our Member National Authorities. We are not there to run them - we are there to help. What we have to do to get that message across and work with them.

‘The Continental Associations are very important to any organisation and they can do a lot of work for ISAF that needs to be covered in their area. The grass roots area, they are the people who can deliver that result.

‘In the development arena, I think we have got to look at where we are going. We have to stay in the Olympics and it would be untenable to think that sailing would not be an Olympic sport.

‘We are a financially secure sport but we do need that Olympic funding to be able to continue to level of administration we are currently managing. This issue must be addressed, as does the reliance of the sport on Olympic monies; we must develop more independence while maintaining our excellent, close working relationship with the IOC.

‘We have to make sure that our sport is relevant to the modern day and we have already made some changes. Some are good and some of them not so good and we have to fine tune that area.

‘We have to keep developing the sport, making it exciting for young sailors and expanding the number of nations for whom sailing is an important sport and to do that we have to make sure we are making sailing relevant to the sailors of today.

'I think most sailors are pretty intelligent people. If you talk these things through you can see where it will benefit the sport. When you are sitting at the council table you should be thinking about the benefit to the sport, not your own personal agenda or your own MNA’s role.

‘We need to give more information earlier and talk about it more widely beforehand in a balanced way, so that when the MNA is instructing their delegate there has been discussion and everyone has thought through the ramifications.

‘By the 2012 elections I will have been a part of ISAF for 21 years and feel I am uniquely qualified to fulfil the role of President of the International Sailing Federation.

‘There are various submissions to be dealt with in November which could lead to a different ISAF structure and Election procedure, so I shall hold any policy statements until such time as the process is clear.’

David Kellett competed from a young age around Sydney Harbour. Concentrated on keel boat racing from 1965 and competed in his first Sydney Hobart race in 1968. He is still an active sailor.

Has sailed to Hobart 38 times, 21 times as skipper of maxi yachts Gretel, Vengeance, Sovereign, Condor, Maxi Ragamuffin, Matador and Sydney, taking Line Honours on several occasions and skippering the first Australian yacht to win the Line Honours/Handicap double with Sovereign in 1987.

On an International level, Kellett has competed in the America's Cup in 1970, 1977 and was the Syndicate Project Manager for Iain Murray’s 1992 Spirit of Australia America's Cup Challenge. In Offshore, he has competed at Cowes, Bermuda and Hawaii several times and skippered Sovereign to win the Maxi World Championship rounds in the U.S.A during 1989. He has also been Team Captain/Manager for two NSW Southern Cross Cups and the Australian team in the1990 Kenwood Cup, a team consisting of over 100 sailors.

He is 63 years of age, married with two children and lives in Sydney, Australia. He has been in the construction and property industry all his working life and has run his Project Management Consulting business for the past twenty two years, working on many major projects ranging up to A$80 million.

An accomplished administrator with excellent management skills Kellett has devoted a considerable amount of his leisure time to, and has been heavily involved in, all levels of yachting administration from Club to State, to National and International levels and is currently an Executive Board member of the International Sailing Federation, the first time an Australian has been elected to such a high office. Kellett is also a past President of the Yachting Association of NSW and a past Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and is currently a Board Member of Yachting Australia.

His current responsibilities within the Executive of ISAF are for the 2012 London Olympics, the America’s Cup, the Volvo Ocean Race and for Professional sailing.

In the 2002 Queen’s Birthday Honours Kellett was awarded an Order of Australia (AM) for his services to the sailing as a significant contributor to the administration of the sport in Australia and overseas and as a competitor.

‘I have been a passionate sailor all my life, from small boats to maxi ocean racers and I have involvement in 38 Sydney Hobart races and I still actively race a 60' yacht.

‘Service to our sport have been vital to me and I have filled many roles from club to State, National and International levels over the past 35 years including Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, President of Yachting New South Wales and a Board Member of Yachting Australia for over twenty years.

‘Yachting Australia asked me to become the ISAF Councillor for Group L in 1991. I represented the region until elected a Vice President in 1998 after serving four years on the Events Committee and filling other roles leading up to the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

‘During my time on the ISAF Executive I have had many roles and taken responsibility for the America's Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, Offshore, Race Officials and the Secretariate, as well as Technical Delegate to the 2008 Beijing Olympic and the 2012 London Olympic sailing regattas.

‘In 2008 I completed ten years on the ISAF Executive and was required to retire. The current Executive recommended me to the position of Treasurer, which the Council duly endorsed. This has allowed me to remain on the Executive and given me a thorough and up to date understanding of all areas of our sport including the vital area of finance.’